Day two of the Southeastern Conference started with a bang. The Ole Miss Rebels opened their March Madness journey against the Arkansas Razorbacks, who came into the game fresh off a victory on Wednesday over South Carolina. With their backs against the wall of needed a win to solidify an NCAA Tournament berth, Arkansas came into the matchup with the Rebels with about as much firepower as the Razorbacks have played with all season long.

Ole Miss opened the game with Arkansas on a war path as Malik Dia and Jaylen Murray combined for 24 points, leading Ole Miss to a 42-34 lead over the Razorbacks.

As the second half rolled around, Coach Cal made the rare halftime adjustments and had his Razorbacks firing on all cylinders. They raced out to an early second-half lead over Ole Miss, keeping the Rebels from scoring and firing any rhythm early in the second half. However, as anybody who has watched this Chris Beard-coached Ole Miss team knows, the Rebels might be down but never out of a fight. At the game’s final media timeout, Ole Miss regained the lead over Arkansas by an advantage of 77-72 with 2:57 on the clock. Arkansas would retake a 78-77 lead with 1:06 on the clock. However, the Rebels would have the final laugh as Sean Pedulla drilled a pull-up three-pointer with one second on the clock to send the Razorbacks packing with an 83-80 Ole Miss win. Arkansas left the door open for the Rebels after missing two free throws that would have given the Razorbacks a two-point lead with a few seconds remaining.

Malik Dia finished the day with 19 points as the leading scorer for Ole Miss, while Jaylen Murray finished with 17, and Matthew Murrell brought up the rear with 12.

As it goes in March, the Rebels survive and advance. It might not have been the prettiest of wins, but the Rebels survived, and now they advance to play Auburn on Friday with a spot in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semi-final on the line. Ole Miss matured a lot today and showcased their potential for a deep March Madness run as they never backed from the fight, taking it right to the Razorbacks in the closing seconds and allowing their knockdown shooter to take the final shot to lead the Rebels to a massive March victory on Thursday.

Ole Miss and Auburn will play the first game on Friday, and the winner will advance to the Semi-finals on Saturday afternoon.

Photo Credits- Ole Miss Basketball on X